Limber-coupling for artillery-vehicles.



To all whom i 'may concen:

Ee it known that lnnmwz a subject of 'the Empelor ef Germany, and. a resident o1"- Essen-on-the-Ruhr, Germany, have invent-ed certain new and useful mprovemens in Lmber-Coupnge im .utillery-Vehicles, of which the folowing is e speefcaon.

This invention relates. t0 Ember eenu plngs for artery vehices andi more pen# tiealarly to such lmbe couplings in which a. member, e, mbe hook'm instance, is monned im swing on e tension rod, and is, by spring pyessure, made io press agens an abutment. This arrangement has been mede in ceder to relieve the holses on the lilnber pele pressure, and to lessen the chetteing of the mber poe. To attain this object in the moet complete manner, the spring, *ahnt presses the Ember hook agains; the abutment must be made Jew strong. En that ease `the spring will, however7 pmuce a considerable resistance against any movement of the Ember hook in theel-dai direc/non of me ension 1nd., so that ehe thrust, acng in the Ene' 0f. draft, will not be teken up with eneugh elasticity by the spying to ect as horse prometer.

The objeet of the present invenen is to px'nvde en mpreved Ember couning 0 E above mentioned kind.; of simple and construction, able to cai-ey 'ine imbe pele "rese-une and t9 diminish ine ch mg of the hmse' pcie, but at the seme me to aci; as heme pioexe in Yline n draft.

One embodiment of me nvenon is resented in the drefsngs, wxez'em eide View im Figure l en a. vehicle, comp-isi eer and ce-.seen the Ember coup 1 z in Seeiion; f 2 n. longudn@ Ve mail sectn in .fion on line ci? seen left; Fig. Ll fm" ne es 2 Wi in d'een' and 5 View like Wh e in o bfi me .ne n n enel/Jn md in T1" St new the w rbe Loewe() washer L and the bearing block D on the other hand. ,This play may also appear between the 'col-lar e1 of the sleeve E and the bearing bloclr D or between the collar el and the rollers and P1. As a consequence of this play, a turning of the limber hook N, toget ier with the tension rod H H1 relative to the sleeve E and the bearing block D 'can take place without resistance of the w springs E and K, when such turning between these parts will be found necessary on limbering up on uneven ground.

in trarelingover level ground, the parts of the limber coupling take up practically l5 the relative positions illustrated in Fig. 2.

The washer L' only moves up against thev bearing block D, so that the draft of the horses, by means of this bearing block, the

spring F, and so forth, is transmitted to the caisson B. Should now, during the traveling, a jerk occur in the opposite direction of travel, as for instance by the striking of the caissonl against an obstruction on thel ground, the limber hook N, tggether with 2g the tension-rod H H1 and the s eeve E will be drawn to the rear in the bearing block D, the spring F only Abeing compressed and acting thus as horse protector: Fig. 4:.

Should the pole of the limber, which is rigidly connected vwith the limber framework C, be thrown upward during travel over uneven ground, the llmber hook N will approximately retain its position relative to the eye r1, as the pintle nzhas only slilt l play in the-eye r1. The tension bar H will., however, swing upward around the axis oi' the pin M relative to the limber hook whereby the collar el of the sleeve E will be pressed against the roller P, but at the' 40 same time raised from the roller P1, see Fig.

5, and the tension bar will be drawn rearward relative to the bearing block D and the sleeve E. The collar e1 as well as the washer L now rest against the bearing block D, and the washer G against the front face c2 ot' the sleeve E; so that, by the above mentioned displacementof the tension rod H H1, both` springs F and K are compressed and, as a. consequence, the blow of the lim-l ,50 berpole will be considerably diminished. The same thing will also occur, and need n0 further explanation, when the limber pole is thrown downward, or when, before the swinging of the pole upward or downward,

i the parts .OZthe limber coupling have taken the position shown in Fig. 4 from the action of a blow in the opposite direction of travel.

"The arrangement of the rollers P and P1,

on the limber` hook, provides a frictionless.

'6o displacement between the limber ,hook N and the collar el of the sleeve E during the swinging of the limber pole.

It is evident that a gun carriage may take the lace of the caisson, without interfering with the object of this invention, or the po- .sition of the coupling may be reversed so that the eye is attached to the limber and the limber hook to the caisson.

I claim:m 'Y

l. A limber coupling for artillery vehicles, comprising a houslng, a tension rod, a t draw-f hook pivoted on said tension rod, a sleeve bearing for said Atension rod, a set of springs tendlng to press said drawl hook against said sleeve bearing and adapted to 75. produce a greater resistance on the bending of said draw hook relative to the tension rod than will be produced by the displacement of said draw hook in the axial `direction of said tension rod. y

2.v A limber coupling for artillery. vehicles, comprising a tension rod, a draw hook, pivoted on said tension rod, a sleeve bearing for said tension rod, a housing for said sleeve bearing rigidly connected to the Vehicle, two springs tending to press said draw hook against the sleeve bearing; abutments for said springs adapted to .cause the compression of bot-h springs when abendin takes place between said tension rod an said draw' hook, but the compressionv of only l one spring when a displacement takes place of said draw hook in the axial direction of said tension rod.

3. A limber coupling for artillery vehi 95 cles, comprising a tension rod, a draw hook pivoted on said tension rod, a sleeve bearing for said tension rod,` a housing for said sleeve bearing rigidly connected to the vehicle, two springs tending to press said draw hook against the sleeve bearing, an abutment at one end of said tensionrod'common to both springs, a washer between one of said springs and said sleeve bearing, asocond washer between the othersprlng and said housing. .i

k4. A limber coupling for artillery vehi-` cles, comprising a tension rod,a pivotedon said tension rod,'va. sleeve benna for said tension' rod, a housing for sain' 11o sleevebearing rigidly connected 'to th velucle, two helical springs, one mounted inside the other around Asaid tension 'rod and tendring to press the draw hook against the sleeve bearing, a stop for said springs at one endof `11,5 said tension rod; a washer'l on said tension rod adapted to'rest against a'sholder onth'e tension rod or against said sleeve bearing' alternately or simultaneousl a Second washer adapted` to rest against the f'nfst' 120 washer or against the housing altemately or simultaneously; onev of said springs bein held in compression between said stop an the-first of said ywashers;*the other spring between the same stop andthe second of v said washers. v

5. A lixnber coupling for artillery vehicles, comprisin a tension rod; a draw 'hook, pivoted ori sai tension rod; a sleeve bearing for said tension rod; a housing for sald 130 sleeve bearing rigidly connected to the vehicle; two springs tending to press said draw hook against the sleeve bearing; a Set 0f rollers carried by seid draw hook adapted end said sleeve bearing when the heel; is pressed against said sleeve bearing.

6. A limber coupling for artillery vehicles, cemprisin a tension rod; :i: drew hook, pvoted on sai tension rod; e sleeve beerin for said tension rod; e housing for sai sleeve bearing rigidly connected to the vehicle; two springs tending to press said draw hook egelnst the sleeve bearing; the free ,een Si? endl (if-seid Lension rod being of smaller diameter than 'the part carried in thelbearing; the length of said sleeve healing being made of the tension rod` having the larger diameter. ,j

The foregoing specification signed at Barmen, Germany, this 30th day of Septembe1-,'1911. f

i WLHELM MAYER. [Le] n pieeeneeof- ALBERT J. NUFER, L. NUFER.

t0 lessen the frictien between seid drew hook i Shghtly Shorter than the length of the Part l 

